Words by Moonlight
Nikk Pilato
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Program Note
On 25 May 1961, President John F. Kennedy delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress, during which he announced an ambitious and dramatic goal: landing an American on the surface of the moon and returning him safely to the Earth. Kennedy’s decision to pursue this goal was affected by a number of geopolitical factors. Four years earlier, the Soviet Union had surprised and embarrassed the United States by launching Sputnik, which became the first artificial satellite in orbit around the Earth. Two years earlier, the Soviets had once again beaten the Americans to a goal, becoming the first country to crash an object onto the surface of the moon. And perhaps most galling, only one month prior to Kennedy’s speech, Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut, became the first human to journey into outer space.
A little over a year later on 12 September 1962, President Kennedy delivered a televised speech to a crowd of 40,000 people at Rice University that read in part:
There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation may never come again. But why, some say, the Moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?
We choose to go to the Moon! We choose to go to the Moon...We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.
After Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, the Apollo Project became a memorial to him and his dream. Over the next few years, countless hours of planning, construction, research, and experimentation were to follow. There were successes and there were setbacks, and the race to the Moon against the Soviets continued throughout the rest of the decade.
Finally, on 20 July, 1969, the astronauts of Apollo 11 arrived at the Moon. While Michael Collins stayed in orbit aboard the Command Module, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong landed on the lunar surface, and became the first men to walk on the surface of the Moon. Armstrong’s carefully chosen words have echoed through history:
That’s one small step for a man….one giant leap for mankind.
Less than 24 hours later, Aldrin and Armstrong blasted off from the lunar surface and rendezvoused with the Command Module. They returned to Earth safely on 24 July 1969, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean after spending more eight days in space. John F. Kennedy’s vision – landing an American on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth - had been fulfilled.
Several more Apollo missions were to follow, including the infamous Apollo 13 mission that suffered a malfunction on the way to the Moon and was forced to return without landing. The last Apollo mission, Apollo 17, arrived at the Moon in December of 1972. It remains the most recent time that human beings have traveled beyond Low Earth Orbit – almost 50 years ago. Before leaving the Moon to return to Earth, Apollo 17 Commander Gene Cernan stated:
I'm on the surface; and, as I take man's last step from the surface, back home for some time to come - but we believe not too long into the future - I'd like to just say what I believe history will record. That America's challenge of today has forged man's destiny of tomorrow. And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.
Words by Moonlight is a collection of 8 short miniatures (corresponding to the phases of the moon) for narrator(s) and winds. Somewhat inspired by Libby Larsen's An Introduction to the Moon, this work does not share any musical material with that work, and does not contain significant sections of improvisation, but retains the idea of spoken word (in this case, poetry) to be used in between each of the works "phases." It also includes a brief nod to one of the greatest moon-inspired works of music by way of piano. The poetry used for the premiere performance included:
"Moon" by Billy Collins
"The New Moon" by Sarah Teasdale
"The Moon Was But a Chin of Gold" by Emily Dickinson
"The Cruel Moon" by Robert Graves
"Above the Dock" by T. E. Hulme
"The Moon" by Henry David Thoreau
"The Crescent Moon" by Amy Lowell
"To The Moon" by Giacomo Leopardi
However, any moon-inspired poetry or spoken word dialogue will work, thus the material can be selected by the performers at their own leisure.
A little over a year later on 12 September 1962, President Kennedy delivered a televised speech to a crowd of 40,000 people at Rice University that read in part:
There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation may never come again. But why, some say, the Moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?
We choose to go to the Moon! We choose to go to the Moon...We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.
After Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, the Apollo Project became a memorial to him and his dream. Over the next few years, countless hours of planning, construction, research, and experimentation were to follow. There were successes and there were setbacks, and the race to the Moon against the Soviets continued throughout the rest of the decade.
Finally, on 20 July, 1969, the astronauts of Apollo 11 arrived at the Moon. While Michael Collins stayed in orbit aboard the Command Module, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong landed on the lunar surface, and became the first men to walk on the surface of the Moon. Armstrong’s carefully chosen words have echoed through history:
That’s one small step for a man….one giant leap for mankind.
Less than 24 hours later, Aldrin and Armstrong blasted off from the lunar surface and rendezvoused with the Command Module. They returned to Earth safely on 24 July 1969, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean after spending more eight days in space. John F. Kennedy’s vision – landing an American on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth - had been fulfilled.
Several more Apollo missions were to follow, including the infamous Apollo 13 mission that suffered a malfunction on the way to the Moon and was forced to return without landing. The last Apollo mission, Apollo 17, arrived at the Moon in December of 1972. It remains the most recent time that human beings have traveled beyond Low Earth Orbit – almost 50 years ago. Before leaving the Moon to return to Earth, Apollo 17 Commander Gene Cernan stated:
I'm on the surface; and, as I take man's last step from the surface, back home for some time to come - but we believe not too long into the future - I'd like to just say what I believe history will record. That America's challenge of today has forged man's destiny of tomorrow. And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.
Words by Moonlight is a collection of 8 short miniatures (corresponding to the phases of the moon) for narrator(s) and winds. Somewhat inspired by Libby Larsen's An Introduction to the Moon, this work does not share any musical material with that work, and does not contain significant sections of improvisation, but retains the idea of spoken word (in this case, poetry) to be used in between each of the works "phases." It also includes a brief nod to one of the greatest moon-inspired works of music by way of piano. The poetry used for the premiere performance included:
"Moon" by Billy Collins
"The New Moon" by Sarah Teasdale
"The Moon Was But a Chin of Gold" by Emily Dickinson
"The Cruel Moon" by Robert Graves
"Above the Dock" by T. E. Hulme
"The Moon" by Henry David Thoreau
"The Crescent Moon" by Amy Lowell
"To The Moon" by Giacomo Leopardi
However, any moon-inspired poetry or spoken word dialogue will work, thus the material can be selected by the performers at their own leisure.